The Captain

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Schwentke directs. Florian Ballhaus behind the camera. Martin Todsharow scores. Michał Czarnecki cuts. Produced in Germany, France, Poland. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 8 years ago.
• 2International production across 3 countries: Germany, France, Poland.
• 3Directed by Robert Schwentke, shot by Florian Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Martin Todsharow. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Michał Czarnecki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Max Hubacher and Milan Peschel and Frederick Lau carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Follow the leader".
• 8IMDB entry: tt6763252 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 9 themes, including "prisoner", "desertion", "world war ii", "nazi officer".

The technical file

Cinematography

Florian Ballhaus

Original score

Martin Todsharow

Editing

Michał Czarnecki

Production design

Harald Turzer

Makeup / hair

Anna Freund

VFX supervisor

Jörn Großhans

Sound

André Bendocchi-Alves

Stunt coordinator

Wanja Götz

Runtime

118 min · 1h 58m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

DE

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Captain (2018) ↗

Also by

Robert Schwentke

• 
  Lie to Me

  2009 · ★ 7.9
• 
  The Time Traveler's Wife

  2009 · ★ 7.0
• 
  RED

  2010 · ★ 6.7
• 
  The Family Jewels

  2004 · ★ 6.6
• 
  Flightplan

  2005 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

  2021 · ★ 6.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Der Hauptmann - The Captain - Official trailer (2018)

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• SWITCH.2019-05-30
  ★ 9/10

  Far from being blockbuster slop that slides from mind an hour after it ends, Robert Schwentke’s first independent feature makes me want to seek out his earlier German films, like ‘Tattoo’ and ‘Eierdiebe’. ‘The Captain’ is a thoughtful, brutal and morbidly amusing study of the corrupting nature of power and the rise of evil. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-captain-horror-nihilism-and-dark-humour

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Filmgalerie 451

  DE

• 

  Alfama Films

  FR

• 

  Opus Film

  PL

• FA

  Facing East

• WO

  Worst Case Entertainment

• HA

  hands-on producers

  DE

• MA

  Maria Films

Key crew

• Still PhotographerKrzysztof Wiktor
• Production CoordinatorAleksandra Skraba
• Production DesignHarald Turzer
• Co-ProducerPiotr Dzięcioł
• Line ProducerHeino Herrenbrück
• Associate ProducerJulia M. Müller
• EditorMichał Czarnecki
• Executive ProducerDaniel Hetzer
• Line ProducerJakob Neuhäusser
• Co-ProducerPaulo Branco
• Executive ProducerPhilip Lee
• Art DirectionJurek Kuttner
• Co-ProducerMarcel Greive
• Co-ProducerEwa Puszczyńska
• Executive ProducerKay Niessen
• CastingAnja Dihrberg
• ProducerFrieder Schlaich
• Line ProducerFelix Eisele
• ProducerIrene von Alberti
• Set DecorationAlwara Thaler
• Executive ProducerMarkus Barmettler
• Production ManagerHeino Herrenbrück
• Sound DesignerAndré Bendocchi-Alves
• Assistant Art DirectorJulien Weizenhöfer

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• prisoner
• desertion
• world war ii
• nazi officer
• impersonator
• black and white
• army captain
• third reich (iii reich 1933-45)
• 1940s

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2018-07-27R

Also known as

International titles

• The Captain - l'usurpateurFR
• KapteeniFI
• Der HauptmannDE
• The CaptainUS
• KapitánCZ